how to overcome injuries
Let’s talk about a scenario that many of us have or will face at one point or another, an injury. You’ve been working hard creating new routines and habits, and boom out of nowhere you get sidelined. An injury is one thing that can potentially derail all of the work that you’ve put in, if you let it.
In times like this, it’s easy to feel down on yourself. You might feel like all of your work has gone to waste, you’re not able to contribute to the team, and can simply feel helpless in general.
But what if I told you that being injured presents an *opportunity* to strengthen other parts of your game? In most instances, you’ll be spending time rehabbing your injury, but you’ll still have plenty of time on your hands if you’re not able to continue practicing or playing in games.
So what exactly do you do with this extra time?
Routine: This is something that every athlete should focus on, but while you have extra time in your week because you’re unable to attend practices or games, it’s important to use this time to further develop your routines and habits for success.
Sleeping: Critical for any athlete, but especially so for injured athletes, optimizing your sleep schedule can help your body heal faster and get you back onto the field. Make sure you’re following the best practices to optimize your sleep (read our blog post here), and you’ll find yourself on the lower end of recovery time for your injury.
Diet: Because you’ll be spending less time doing physical activity, it could be even easier to let your diet slip and put yourself on the back foot while you’re injured. Since you’ll have more time though, make sure you’re using this time to further refine your eating habits to focus on foods that will help you recover from injury faster, and which to avoid. (be sure to talk to your doctor and/or physical therapist about this as well)
Mental reps: One of the most important things about getting reps (of any kind), is that you allow yourself to experience a difficult situation so that you’ll be prepared to face it again in the future. The more familiar you are with the situation, the more likely you are to succeed. Injuries cut you off from traditional “physical” reps, BUT there is still plenty of time to focus on “mental” reps, where you visualize yourself in key situations as if you were actually doing them. This is something you should incorporate into your routine regardless of whether or not you are injured, but it is especially important for injured athletes.
Become Anti-fragile (unbreakable!): From a mindset perspective, think of your injury as an opportunity to build better habits and come back even stronger. Knowing that you have the ability to overcome a difficult obstacle will help strengthen your resolve and give you the confidence to overcome other difficult situations that you will face when you return from injury. Setback and tough times are needed grow and reach your ultimate potential!
Getting injured can be a massive setback if you allow yourself to fall into the trap of self pity. However, if you are able to flip your mindset in order to see the situation as an opportunity for improvement, you’ll be able to develop key areas that will allow you to come back stronger.
